It's Friday Night, Little Darling
by OZ7UP
Summary: One is a womaniser. The other loves a good set of mammaries. A four-part story and a collection of one-shots set in modern-day London. Side story 2: Even a princess knows how to have fun. Oh, and the author's self-insert gets killed.
1. Part 1: We've Got A Situation

**Disclaimer: I do not own the "Strike Witches" franchise. Likewise for one particular Barney Stinson.**

**A/N 1: The characters featured in this modern-day AU are all five years older than they are in canon.**

**A/N 2: This story was inspired by "Friday Night (Going Down In Flames)" by The Damned Things. It has absolutely nothing to do with the godawful Rebecca Black song.**

**Pairings ("Friday Night" main story): Waltrud/Yoshika (main pairing), Waltrud/Adolfine (implied, in the past), Eila/Sanya/Nipa (implied in the background), Shirley/Gertrud (implied in the background), Martina Crespi/Luciana Mazzei (implied in the background), Mio Sakamoto / Keisuke Hijikata (engaged, background pairing)**

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><p>Waltrud Krupinski groaned as her mobile phone rang. Ignoring the call from her boss for the moment, the 23-year-old woman yawned as she took in the sight of what was meant to be an unfamiliar area.<p>

It was not the first time that the Karlslander had woken up in this particular conquest's humble abode, despite her constant swearing to never hook up with any particular woman more than once. And yet, there was something appealing that Waltrud found about her previous night's bedmate; she couldn't decide whether it was that petite yet perfect figure, complete with a delightful derriere, or the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing vibe that she gave out.

The constant ringing eventually snapped Waltrud out from her thoughts. Deciding to humor her boss-slash-older-former-conquest-cum-good-friend, she reached out for her phone.

"Ja, it's Waltrud."

"Good morning to you, Waltrud," Adolfine Galland replied, "I trust you had a great night out scouring the streets for London's finest?"

"Well…" Waltrud began before realizing that she could not honestly give a simple yes-or-no answer to the oft-asked question for once. "The sex was great, as usual," she responded in what she thought was a neutral tone, "but I don't think you called just to ask me about my private business, given that you are calling from the office."

This earned a hearty laugh over the phone connection. "Why, Waltrud," Adolfine managed to get out, "I believe this is the first time I've ever heard you being tactful outside the office! You are right, though." Her voice taking on a more serious tone, the older woman continued. "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you on a Saturday morning, but as you know, we are on the verge of signing a deal with Clostermann Telecommunications, and their representative wants to finalize the details over lunch today before we sign it."

"Ah, but wasn't Barney Stinson supposed to meet the representative?"

"That was the original plan," Adolfine confirmed, "but when I called him earlier this morning to remind him about the lunch appointment, he said that he was seeing the doctor to treat what he claims to be a rather unpleasant case of warts. I'm sure you don't need to know why that's the case."

"I can see where this is going," Waltrud dryly quipped.

"Indeed," Adolfine sighed. "Although this deal is the result of the collaborative effort from everyone at Galland Incorporated, you're the only other person apart from Mr. Stinson and myself to have intimate knowledge of the tiniest details of the contract, and I can definitely trust you to not seduce their representative, one particular Mademoiselle Perrine Clostermann, because you once told me outright that you would never, and I quote, 'hop into the sack with a Gallian.'"

"You know me all too well. Very well, then, the lunch meeting is still going to be held at the restaurant at the NatWest tower, right?"

"I'm glad to see that unlike some people, at least all that sex hasn't rotted away your brain," the older woman muttered. "So, speaking of which, the sex was great, huh?"

"Adolfine!"

"Are you trying to hide something from me, Waltrud?" Adolfine chuckled. "Anything in particular that could ruin your image as a competent lesbian equivalent of Mr. Stinson?"

"NEIN!" Surprised by the loudness of her own voice, Waltrud glanced at the other side of the bed, hoping that the outburst had not woken up her bedmate. Sighing with relief that she was the only occupant underneath the bed sheets, she refocused her attention on the phone call, not noticing that her bedmate was standing by the doorway, wearing nothing but an apron and with a spatula in hand. "Nein… Ja… I don't really know, Adolfine… I think I might be in love."

_**CRACK!**_

"Adolfine?" Waltrud was concerned. "Are you still there?"

"I think my mind just shattered from that little revelation of yours, Waltrud," Adolfine replied, the shock evident in her voice. "It was bound to happen anyway, but I would have expected that to occur in your mid-thirties, and not while you're twenty-three."

"Please don't tell anyone about this, Adolfine," Waltrud begged, "my image will be ruined."

"I won't say a word, Waltrud," the older woman promised, "but even so, the fact that you are begging me to keep quiet suggests that unless something goes horribly wrong with this girl, your image as a womanizer is pretty much shelved for now."

"But…"

"Tell me, Waltrud, how did you manage to fall in love in the first place?"

"Well…"

* * *

><p><em>The first night, four Fridays ago:<em>

_Waltrud sighed as she watched the heavy rainfall outside her modest rented Bayswater apartment. Due to her extensive contributions to the drafting of the newly proposed deal between Galland Incorporated and Clostermann Telecommunications, she had been given the afternoon off from work, only to have her plans to drink the night away in the city dashed by a torrential downpour that started the moment she got home. As the hours passed, it became clear to her that taking a bus along Bayswater Road towards the city on a rainy day was a horrible idea, and that her umbrella would not be able to last a trip to either the Bayswater or Queensway "tube" stations._

_As she sighed upon sending out several text messages to her friends stating that she would not be able to make it, Waltrud vaguely recalled that a new pub, The Wolf And The Greyhound, had opened in the basement portion of her apartment building just a few months ago. Deciding that a beer is a beer, and knowing that her apartment was severely lacking in liquor, she decided to give the new drinking hole a try._

_A few minutes later, which included a ten-second cautious dash through the rain, Waltrud found herself standing in the doorway of the homely-looking pub. A cursory look confirmed the pub's status as a new establishment, but a smile grew on the Karlslander's face as she noticed the few attractive women scattered throughout the place._

"_Hello there, Miss, welcome to The Wolf And The Greyhound. How may I serve you?"_

_Waltrud jumped at the sound of the voice. Turning around towards the direction of the speaker, she noticed a young man of Fusoan descent smiling at her from behind the bar counter. "I'll have a Beck's, if you have any on tap," she squeaked out, her tough-girl image momentarily disrupted._

_The Fusoan chuckled. "Of course, we do serve Beck's here," he responded without a hint of his Fusoan roots in his voice, "but we do serve a fairly wide variety of obscure Karlslander and Fusoan liquors in this fine establishment, as fitting of the owners' desire to combine the very best of Fuso's and Karlsland's food and culture."_

_Taking a look at the beer list on the counter, Waltrud gulped. "That's a lot of beers to choose from."_

"_Feel free to try as many beers as you like," the man chuckled. "Since you're the fiftieth new face to walk into the pub, beer is on the house for you."_

"_Ummm… Thank you very much, Mr…?"_

"_You may call me Keisuke."_

"_Waltrud," the Karlslander said as she reached out to shake the bartender's hand. "Thank you very much for the offer, Keisuke, but I cannot possibly impose myself on the pub like this, especially with how expensive these beers are."_

"_Ah, you don't have to worry about that," Keisuke responded. "The two owners are both very rich, and because they are treating this venture as an experiment, they are not too concerned about whether the place is financially successful or not, just as long as someone enjoys the food and beer. Besides, Mr. Sakamoto, one of the owners and my future father-in-law, was the one who implemented the conditions for the free beer."_

_A smile formed on Waltrud's face. "Very well, Keisuke, if it is not too much of a bother, could I have an Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier?"_

_Moments later, Waltrud was sitting at a booth, enjoying the smoky taste of the beer she had ordered. As she marveled at the wonders of her native homeland's beer-brewing capabilities (despite not regretting moving to Britannia to escape her racist family, our young heroine would always consider Karlslander beer to be the best), her eyes began to closely scope out the other customers in the pub. The ladies who seemed as though they were from Romagna looked pretty exotic, and the college-aged blondes from Suomus were looking very nubile._

"_Do you like what you see?"_

_Waltrud, who was busy eyeing a busty redhead Liberion bending over an antique jukebox machine, jumped in surprise upon hearing a voice from the booth behind her. She turned around, hoping to give the speaker a piece of her mind, only to stare in surprise at a slightly younger innocent-looking Fusoan._

"_Nice breasts, huh? I can go all night while playing those like a set of bongo drums," the Fusoan whispered in a conspiring tone, the glee present in her accent-less voice, "but it's a huge shame that she already has a girlfriend."_

"_And how would you know that?"_

"_Have you ever been thrown across a bar by a ticked-off woman from Karlsland? I'm Yoshika, by the way," the Fusoan said as she moved over to Waltrud's booth with a glass of Asahi in hand._

"_Charmed. I'm Waltrud. I'm sure that must have hurt a lot."_

_Yoshika chuckled. "I'm just glad that I tend to heal pretty fast. As for the others," she continued as she gestured at the other female occupants of the pub, "the Suomus girls are in a three-way relationship with a slightly younger girl from Orussia, and the Romagnans already have boyfriends." The Fusoan paused as though she was trying to recall a piece of information from her memory. "Oh, wait, the platinum blonde and the tall shorthaired woman don't have boyfriends – they're sleeping with each other," she added upon seeing a smirk on Waltrud's face._

"_Did you ask each and every one of them out outright? On an unrelated note, your accent isn't what I expected it to be."_

"_I'm a second-generation Fusoan-Britannian," Yoshika shrugged, "Mr. Sakamoto is a family friend. Anyway…" Holding up her two hands, she flexed her fingers as though she was about to grab two ball-shaped items. "I love the feel of lovely breasts in my hands, as long as they're silky smooth and have a certain degree of firmness, no matter how big or small they are. You know," the Fusoan purred, "if you weren't wearing a suit now, I would've been able to evaluate your, ah, assets just from sight."_

"_Hah! The ladies love the suit," Waltrud snorted, the smoked beer clearly making its way into her system, "the only reason why I'm not proving that at my usual drinking hole at Piccadilly Circus is because of the unholy torrential downpour." Frowning into her half-drained glass, the Karlslander gestured around the pub. "And as much as this place has a nice feel to it, the fact that the women here are all attached means that I would have been better off spending the evening eating a microwaveable dinner in front of the TV."_

"_Well, maybe this pub isn't exactly the right place for me either," Yoshika mused as she drained a third of the beer in her own glass. "The reason why the college-aged regulars hang out here in the first place is because of its obscure location. It's like a mini community where they don't have to worry about being hit on by complete strangers."_

"_Sounds reasonable. So, tell me, Yoshika, I take that you're also an university student?"_

"_I'm studying to get into the hospitality industry," Yoshika replied. "During the upcoming break, I intend to ask Mr. Sakamoto if I could get a part-time job here."_

_Waltrud's tough-girl image temporarily faltered as a genuinely warm smile grew on her face. "I'm sure you'll be able to land a job here, Yoshika. You come across as the type of person who would do her best to ensure everyone has a good time."_

_The duo sat in relative silence, as they each nursed a second round of drinks that Keisuke offered on the house. The number of beers grew as the evening melted into the night, with the two regaling each other with amusing personal experiences over a fine dinner that Waltrud insisted on paying for. By the time they had finished eating, the rain had stopped, and the Karlslander decided it was time to return to her apartment._

_They had just climbed the stairs up to street level, and were standing in front of the apartment building when Yoshika tilted her head upwards to plant a soft kiss on Waltrud's lips. The older woman briefly savored the taste of her companion's lips before pulling back._

_"Yoshika?"_

"_You didn't have to drink all that beer just to get me into bed," Yoshika whispered loud enough for Waltrud to hear, "because I was already drawn to you even before you noticed me. It's like you are a power supply, and just being around you feels so electrifying."_

"_What about your parents?"_

_"They've gone back to Fuso for a family matter, and they won't be back for a few months. They won't know a thing."_

_Silence reigned for all of a good five seconds._

"_So," Waltrud broke the silence with a renewed lady-killer smile, "I've got breasts."_

"_And I love the feel of breasts in my hands," Yoshika finished the Karlslander's thoughts._

_The lady-killer smile evolved into a lady-killer grin. "Oh, you're going to be feeling a whole lot more than that!"_

_The two ended up not getting enough sleep for the night._

* * *

><p>"Scheiße, you just had to cut off at the good part," Adolfine groaned. "So, are you going to tell me the rest of your story?"<p>

"Not now, I'm afraid. It's a bit of a long story," Waltrud stated as frankly as she could, "but I will say that even though both Yoshika and I intended for that encounter to be a one-night stand, it seemed that we were meant to be drawn together ever since that night."

"I see," Adolfine responded. "Well, I'd better leave you alone for now – after all, I wouldn't want you to be late for that lunch meeting."

"Of course, especially not after having told me to attend it on such short notice!"

"I expect some good news on Monday morning. Please don't let me down."

As her friend hung up, Waltrud contemplated making a quick dash back to her apartment a few blocks away when she became aware of a presence by the bedroom doorway.

"Yoshika? How long have you been standing there?"

The apron-clad Fusoan slowly stepped into the room. "Since you told your boss that you might be falling in love. Normally, I would be a little angry at you for telling someone else about all that we've been through," Yoshika continued as she edged towards the bed, "but I'm glad that you made that first encounter sound nearly as sweet as it was in real life."

"You're not…"

Yoshika chuckled. "Of course not! If anything, you deserve a little something as a reward," she said as her body movements reinforced the fact that she was wearing nothing underneath the lone apron, "but you'll have to wait until after that lunch meeting that you've been dragged into. For now, though…"

The kiss was short but intense, and left Waltrud with a lingering image of a promised night of wild, passionate sex that forced the Karlslander to use every single trick in the book to prevent the lewd thoughts from disrupting the lunch meeting.

In testament to Waltrud's competence at her job, Adolfine did receive the good news the following Monday morning.

* * *

><p><strong>More AN:  
>Wow, where am I going to start? I have to say that this was inspired by uber-tastic, although future chapters will end up incorporating influences by Overmaster and Shadow Crystal Mage.<strong>

**Anyway, the main pairing for this mini-series is Waltrud/Yoshika. If you don't know who the former is, she's the womaniser in the 502JFW. I'll confess that I had second thoughts about making Waltrud the main character for the "real" storyline for this fic, given that her real-life distaff counterpart was involved in the Rudel Scandel (as such, do not expect Hanna Rudel to make an appearance at all). What's done is done, though, and it was fun writing out her character based on what we know about her from the available canon material.**

**The main "Friday Night" story will be told in four parts, this being the first. Part 2 will be told in chapter 5, part 3 will be told in chapter 10, and the final part (which leads to the beginning of chapter 1) will be told in chapter 15. In between and after the main story, I am open to any requests for AU!Friday Night ficlets. As with uber-tastic, do not just give a random "character 1 x character 2 fluff" - a scenario would be nice to work with. Also, keep in mind that all ficlets will be modern day AUs, all characters are five years older than they are in canon, and both Mio and Minna will be in straight relationships (for the record, I do ship the two together).**


	2. Side story 1: Being Professional

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Strike Witches franchise, and the "How I Met Your Mother" characters briefly mentioned are owned by CBS.**

**Requested by: (name withheld as requested)  
>Main Pairing: Sadako Shimohara  Georgette Lemare  
>Prompt 1: Sadako is the daughter of a fashion company CEO, and Georgette is an employee of Galland Incorporated.<br>Prompt 2: Business dinner  
>Other pairings: WaltrudYoshika (Friday Night series), one-sided Lynette/Adolfine  
>Other notes: Although this can be read as a stand-alone story, it takes place some time after Waltrud and Yoshika hook up in the main Friday Night story. <strong>

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><p>Having grown up in a rich and successful Fusoan family in Britannia, Sadako Shiomohara could have chosen to live a life of ease. Her grades throughout high school and university were excellent, and she had the option to become a scholar, just like her father.<p>

Instead, she had chosen to follow in the footsteps of her mother, the renowned Emilly Shimohara, founder and CEO of "EM", a high-end London-based fashion company. Her father attempted to protest against this decision, but Sadako, with the aid of her older siblings, was able to persuade him that she was better off having fun doing something she really enjoyed, rather than sitting behind a desk to expand her knowledge while neglecting her wisdom.

(Emilly Shimohara also played her part in "persuading" her husband to change his stance on Sadako's career path, but that wildly inappropriate story will be saved for a more appropriate time.)

With consent from her father firmly secured, Sadako threw herself into learning the various aspects of operating a business, as well as the tiny details that went into making EM stand out as a highly respected fashion company. Even though she found the free time to do whatever it was that 22-year-old women did in their free time, the Fusoan was never seen without a small notebook, into which she would scribble down what her friends thought about current fashion trends.

"Like time," Sadako would say when asked why she was insistent on letting aspects of her work trickle into her free time, "fashion waits for no-one." As such, it didn't come as a surprise to anybody as she rose through the ranks of EM, and was chosen to work with Galland Incorporated to create a new marketing strategy for the fashion company.

* * *

><p>The day she moved to London was the turning point in Georgette Lemare's life. Growing up in a family of innkeepers in a small town in the Gallian countryside, the brunette had always felt she was destined for bigger things, but was content with her lot in life, helping her parents with the day-to-day running of the successful family inn during her days off from her studies.<p>

That bigger picture that Georgette envisioned for herself started to unveil itself when she took on a part-time job with a local branch of Galland Incorporated as part of a university work experience program for one of her honors subjects. The Gallian made a name for herself by successfully taking charge of her fellow student peers, putting together a mock proposal that would theoretically help a local company attract more customers; the proposal was deemed to be sound and practical, and Adolfine Galland was more than surprised when she found out that an university assignment was successfully applied in real life to a small business in Gallia.

Upon receiving an invitation to work full-time for Galland Incoporated in London, Georgette found herself in a quandary. While she knew that she was destined for something bigger, a part of her didn't want to leave the cozy life she had in the Gallian countryside, helping her parents to run the inn.

"Alors, Georgette," her father said to her a week after the brunette opened the fateful letter, "nous savons qu'il existe un monde différent au delà des frontières de la Gallia, mais nous savons aussi que tu ne peux pas grandir comme une personne si tu ne veux pas explorer le monde. Apprécier la vie."

("_Ah, Georgette, we know that there's a different world beyond Gallia's borders, but we also know that you cannot grow as a person if you don't want to explore the world. Enjoy life._")

Georgette never looked back on that moment with regret. Although she did promise to visit her small country town once in a while, her father had a point. A month later after the talk, she moved across the Channel to Britannia, settling in a cozy Bayswater apartment in London, a stone's throw away from what turned out to be her immediate superior's own abode.

The university honors assignment was not a fluke; Waltrud Krupinski and Adolfine Galland had nothing but praise for Georgette's leadership abilities and mental fortitude, and decided to assign the Gallian to work with Galland Incorporated's latest big-name client, EM.

* * *

><p>Brown eyes gazed upon a lovely set of hazel eyes, twin tails of brown hair that were the perfect length, and a charming face with only the tiniest hint of make-up.<p>

The hazel eyes stared back as they took in the sight of a pair of chocolate-coloured eyes, short black hair that managed to create a sense of roguish elegance, and a face that seemed to generate warmth.

It was surprising that the two didn't notice the highly visible blushes on each other's faces.

"Bonjour," Georgette broke the silence as she held out her hand, "my name is Georgette Lemare, and I look forward to working with you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sadako lightly kissed the back of the Gallian's hand before shaking it, "my name is Sadako Shimohara, and likewise, I hope that we can make this a profitable experience for not just the both of us, but for both EM and Galland Incorporated."

"Oh, Mon Dieu, you're so bold…"

In the distance, both Waltrud Krupinski and Adolfine Galland shared a chuckle as they watched the scene unfold before their eyes.

"Ten quid that the two will get together by the time the project is over," Waltrud said nonchalantly.

"Are you that eager to throw away perfectly good money that can get you a few decent beers or one really good beer at the pub you were telling the whole office about?"

"Well," Waltrud shrugged, "although you were the one who discovered Georgette in the first place, she is in my division after all, so I'd say I know her well enough to know she'll find a loophole and bulldoze her way through that to get what she wants."

"We'll see," Adolfine mused. The older woman looked around her surroundings. "So, I'll see you tonight at the Eriksson household?"

Waltrud laughed at her boss's sudden paranoia. "Oh, relax, I've made sure to distract Lynette Bishop before coming out here, so you don't have to worry about your lovely leg being dry-humped by that adorable secretary of yours. And yes, dinner is still on for tonight - Yoshika's been looking forward to meeting you as well as Marshall Erikson and his wife…"

* * *

><p>"Alors, Sadako," Georgette purred as she sat behind the desk, "tell me, what does EM have in mind for its new advertising campaign?"<p>

"We were considering updating our image," Sadako said, attempting not to get lost in the hazel eyes that were gazing upon her. "Preliminary research has revealed the consumer perception of EM being a bit too avant-garde, and one of the suggestions that our marketing department came up with was to reinvent the brand image."

"Ah, je viens… I can see the problem with that, though – surely your existing consumers, the ones who have absolutely no problems with your brand image, they will cause problems if you make any drastic changes, non?"

Sadako smiled upon hearing Georgette's response. "Yes, I'm glad that you said that. Instead, we'll be keeping the avant-garde image, but we also want to make slight changes to the approach that will make EM a much more accessible brand."

"You do know that the words 'avant-garde' and 'accessible' conflict with each other, am I right?"

"We are aware of that. That's why we are considering getting a celebrity that everyone could identify with to be a spokesperson for EM. We want to make the concept 'avant-garde' appealing to our potential target market."

Georgette sat back in her office chair, spending a few seconds running the suggestion through her mind. The coquettish manner in which she pursed her lips while deep in thought created butterflies in Sadako's stomach, the feeling of which made itself known as a growing blush on the Fusoan's face.

Evidently, Georgette had noticed the blush as she suddenly leaned forward across the desk; her face was a bit too close for Sadako's comfort, and the top buttons of her dress shirt were unbuttoned, presenting the Fusoan with a view of a proportionately-perfect bosom and a hint of black lace.

"D'accord, Sadako, which celebrities do you have in mind?"

* * *

><p>"So," Emilly Shimohara asked as soon as her daughter closed the front door to the family's apartment in the Canary Wharf area, "how did the meeting go?" Despite being Fusoan in origin, the family had made it a point to use Britannian in their daily lives, using the Fusoan language only for traditional ceremonies.<p>

"It went pretty well," Sadako said as she made her way to her room. "We narrowed the list of potential celebrity endorsers down to Mio Sakamoto and Minna Wilcke."

"The soccer player and the opera singer?"

Sadako nodded in affirmation. "Yes; of all the celebrities we felt are good role models for society, the two are the most, shall we say, wholesome candidates we could think of. Besides," she added as a bit of an afterthought, "if we do decide to choose Miss Sakamoto as the endorser, we could cater to a completely different market by making sportswear that look stylish and avant-garde, but with features that would make them very practical on the fields."

"That's a pretty good point of parity," Emilly mused, "a range of sportswear that is both stylish and practical… So, is she good-looking?"

"MUM!"

"I'll take that as a 'yes,' dear. Where is she from?"

Having walked into her mother's trap, Sadako sighed. "She's from a small country town in Gallia, not too far from Paris."

"Gallian women do have a great fashion sense," Emilly responded, as though she was recalling a fond memory that Sadako had no desire to know about. "And that does not include what they wear under those fabulous clothes."

"I can definitely testify to that," Sadako mumbled under her breath, hoping not to be heard by her mother.

"Oh, do tell your dear mother more about how you found that out."

Sadako could only groan.

* * *

><p>In real life, the process of creating a new marketing campaign, starting from the market research and ending with the evaluation after implementing the campaign, can take between one to two years, if the marketing team involved were competent with their jobs. However, as both Sadako and Georgette were more than highly competent at their jobs, their project was completed within half a year.<p>

For Sadako, however, the first three months turned out to be painful for her. She didn't have any problems working with Georgette – the Gallian was straightforward with her suggestions for the project, and she knew when to make compromises, especially with accepting changes to, and defending her ideas.

What worried Sadako the most was how she felt Georgette was being straightforward with being suggestive towards her throughout their various interactions. Granted, the Fusoan was the one who had landed herself in the situation when she kissed the back of Georgette's hand before shaking it on the very first day they met, but she didn't realize the impact it would leave on the Gallian.

Things started off innocently; whenever the two shook hands, Georgette would use her thumb to lightly caress the back of Sadako's hand, and the Gallian proved to be adept at giving out back rubs that the Fusoan would audibly enjoy whenever the stress of the project got to her.

"Your fingers, Georgette," Sadako would mutter one day after receiving a massage at the end of a particularly difficult meeting, "you should get them insured because those fingers are a divine gift."

"Oh! You flatter me too much!"

Unfortunately, the exchange only served to embolden the Gallian.

"So," Georgette said as she shut the door to the office after the duo had just finished a meeting with their team, "now that we're alone, shall we carry out some Research And Development of our own?"

Picking up on the capital letters in "Research And Development", Sadako could only squeak in response, her face turning bright red as she shook her head rapidly.

The months flew by, and Sadako eventually got used to Georgette's flirting, and she had learned to get past it by flirting back, which led to a few interesting exchanges.

"Alors, do you think there is still time for a bit more Research And Development?" It was the final month of the project, and both Sadako and Georgette were walking back from a particularly impressive presentation that used Mio Sakamoto as the basis for a potential marketing campaign. The two had just stepped inside the office, with the Gallian closing the door as usual.

She didn't expect Sadako to whirl around and pin her to the wall next to the door. "It's a bit too late for that now," the Fusoan whispered huskily, "but I do think it's not too late to go over your Spreadsheets a few times…"

"Mon Dieu…"

It was a picture-perfect opportunity for a kiss, which could have led to a session of lust and passion, but the two knew that any further collaboration that was much more than called for in the contract would be highly unprofessional, and that the two companies would lose public standing as a result. With heavy hearts, Sadako pulled herself away from the wall while Georgette took the moment to straighten her clothes, the two sporting blushes on their faces. It took several minutes for their breathing to slow down back to normal.

* * *

><p>One Friday a few weeks after the EM fashion company successfully implemented a marketing campaign that featured both Mio Sakamoto and Minna Wilcke, a stammering Georgette invited Sadako to have dinner at The Wolf And The Greyhound pub to officially signal the end of the project. After saying "yes", Sadako had to wonder how one could look cute while stuttering as she watched the Gallian walk away, her gaze directed towards the brunette's perfectly-shaped bottom.<p>

As the two were good at their jobs, they didn't have to worry about the marketing campaign being a failure, but they could not officially declare the project finished until EM had finished evaluating its performance. With plenty of positive reports flowing in, Emilly Shimohara was satisfied with the job well done, and had called Adolfine Galland to personally thank her. Hearing about the phone call, Waltrud Krupinski had instructed Georgette to invite Sadako out for an official celebration dinner.

* * *

><p>It was a business dinner only on the surface.<p>

The food was delicious, just as Waltrud had promised. Sadako watched with fascination as Georgette packed away entrée after entrée, all of which were served on the house, compliments of Mr. Sakamoto and Mr. Wilcke, the owners of The Wolf And The Greyhound. The successful marketing campaign for EM had a rollover effect in which due to the increase in awareness of the endorsers, people found out about The Wolf And The Greyhound, causing a boom in business. The owners of the pub did not hesitate to offer Sadako and Georgette free food for the evening, and even agreed to Waltrud's request via telephone to serve a huge platter of oysters to the two women.

"… And you say that this is your first time eating in this pub," Sadako said as she took a sip of her beer, "despite living a few buildings away."

Georgette finished swallowing the last oyster before washing it down with some wine. "In my defense," she responded, her Britannian now completely free from her natural Gallian accent, "while I did hear great things about this place from Waltrud, we Gallians prefer a bit more finesse and class in the presentation of our food, at the very least." The brunette took another sip. "The food is delicious, though. It reminds me of my mother's cooking back at the inn in Gallia."

"I'd like to visit that inn some day," Sadako smiled warmly as she put down her beer, reaching forward to grasp her dinner partner's hands, "because I want to meet the people who took the time to raise such a fine woman like you. Perhaps you'll show me around your home town?"

Georgette looked down at her hands, safely ensconced by Sadako's. Looking up, she smiled back before prying her hands free to dig out a contract that was signed many months ago.

"Alors," she said, her Gallian accent creeping back into her voice, "we've had a great time working together over the past few months, but I think it's about time that we brought things to an end, non?"

"That's true," Sadako said wistfully, "after all, all good things must come to an end."

"Very well, Mademoiselle Shimohara, please read through very carefully all the terms and targets that were set out in the contract, and think long and hard about whether they were all met before you sign in the specified areas."

"I'm done." With that, the necessary signatures were given, prompting Georgette to declare the business dinner and the project finished. After Sadako successfully insisted on paying for the drinks, the two found themselves standing outside the pub at street level.

"We had a great time, didn't we?" Sadako didn't want anything more than simply enjoying the crisp London air with the brunette standing at her side.

"Oui, we definitely did…" Turning to face the Fusoan, Georgette took a deep breath. "Listen, Sadako, if your mother's company needs to use Galland Incorporated's services again in the future, I'm afraid we cannot work together anymore."

Sadako's heart shattered. "Why?"

It promptly reformed as Georgette landed a searing kiss on her lips, fueled by the passion and lust that had built up over the past half year.

"So that we won't have to worry about being caught for unprofessionalism," the Gallian responded as she lifted her mouth off Sadako's now-swollen lips. "Je t'aime," she sighed as she rested her head on her partner's chest, a small smile on her contented face.

* * *

><p>That night, Sadako would confirm what her mother mentioned in a conversation months ago. Gallian women did wear great underwear underneath their lovely clothes.<p>

Waltrud, on the other hand, won her ten quid from a grumbling Adolfine Galland. There was a reason why she told Georgette to have the dinner at The Wolf And The Greyhound, after all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**** First things first, I really hate uploading stuff onto FF[dot]Net. Don't even get me started about the formatting!**

**I originally meant to have this up over the weekend, but I was not too happy with the way it was going, so I ended up rewriting it instead. While I still had a couple of problems incorporating the business dinner aspect of the prompt, I'm really satisfied with the end result, even if that aspect was literally tacked on at the end. It's definitely much better than the original plan, that's for sure.**

**If someone could correct me on the French as spoken by Georgette's father, that would be great. I think there's supposed to be the subjunctive tense somewhere in there, but unfortunately, I'm more familiar with that for Italian than for French.**

**(EDIT: A couple of minor mistakes have been fixed. That's what you get for mixing up French and Italian...)**

**Lynette having a stalker-ish crush on Adolfine Galland. That's one fandom pairing that I've just subverted with style.**

**In terms of characterisation, I apologise if they may seem a bit OOC, but apart from the twitter story and the EWACS profiles, I had to ramp up some of what we do know about them. Sadako's the studious type of person, and combined with her love for 'girly' things, such as fashion, I felt it was natural for her to really get into learning about and working in the fashion industry. Likewise, for Georgette, I could imagine her studying hard in her native Gallia so that she could land a good job with enough money to support her innkeeper parents, and since her EWACS profile states that she's tenacious in battle, I decided to give her a bold character in this ficlet.**

**As for future requests, well, I've just completed one, and it would be nice to know what you guys want. The same conditions from the last chapter still applies, but I'm loosening the requirements in the sense that the story doesn't have to take place in The Wolf And The Greyhound on a Friday night. If there are no requests, I'll be posting a filler chapter, the preview for which can be seen below. Enjoy!**

**(Edit: As of now, I've received another request, from the same person to boot, and since I'm already running through my head how it's going to play out, I've changed the chapter name for part 1 of the Friday Night main story from "All I Want Is A Good Time" to "We've Got A Situation Here". Not only is the new chapter name more appropriate, it means I can now use the old one for the next request, and I'm pretty damned sure you can figure out what is going to influence it.)**

* * *

><p><strong>Omake:<strong>

Shirley took one step towards Gertrud as she gestured at the beat-up hot rod.

"Why, this car is automatic!"

She took another step forward.

"It's systematic!"

Gertrud found herself backing away.

"It's hydromatic!"

The excitement on Shirley's face grew exponentially.

"Why! It's Greased Lightning!"

* * *

><p><strong>Omake notes:<strong>

**Yeah, imagine Jamie Marchi singing the classic "Greased Lightnin'" as a composite between Shirley and Negima!'s Haruna Saotome.**


	3. Side story 2: All I Want Is A Good Time

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Strike Witches franchise. The only characters that I "own" in this chapter would be my self-insert, Helmina Lent's mother, and the younger distaff counterparts of "Appetite For Destruction"-era Guns N' Roses. This story contains portions of, or references to song lyrics.**

**Requested by: **(name withheld by request)**  
><span>Pairing:<span> N/A **(three-way between Heinrike **"Rike"** Prinzessin Zu Sayn-Wittegenstein (21), Heidemarie "**Marie"** Schnaufer (20), and Helmina **"Mina"** Lent (22))**  
><span>Prompt 1:<span> **Prinzessin, Heidemarie, and Helmina are university students and childhood friends - Prinzessin is a member of a Karlslander royal family, Helmina is the daughter of a restaurant owner, and Heidemarie is the granddaughter of a toy-maker who moved from Karlsland many years ago.**  
><span>Prompt 2:<span> **"Prinzessin decides to take her close childhood friends out to a night out within the dazzling and colorful city lights of London...with twists...humor...escapades and laughs along the way...leading up the final part, which consists of midnight tea in Heidemarie's appartment...to something else." (Not really accomplished - see author notes)**  
><span>Recommended listening:<span> **"Friday Night (Going Down In Flames)" by The Damned Things, "Dirty Rock Baby" by The Scarlets (Australia), "Nightrain", "Think About You" and "Anything Goes" by Guns N' Roses  
><strong><span>Warning:<span>** **There will be OOC-ness in this chapter. Your Mileage May Vary.**

* * *

><p>"I'm bored."<p>

It was a crisp spring afternoon in London, complete with a light breeze that was passing through the neighborhood known as St John's Wood. The breeze made itself known as two heads whipped around to stare at the speaker of the two words, hair flowing in the breeze to create an impression of light ripples on a water surface.

As usual, Helmina Lent was the first to respond to her blonde friend. "You're bored?"

"Oh, _ja_, there's nothing worse than boredom," Heinrike replied nonchalantly to the raven-haired woman sitting on the other side of the small table. "As much as I love this delectable Romagnan gelato, it's not doing anything to excite me."

"Well," Heidemarie Schnaufer said, her hauntingly beautiful white hair waving about lazily in the breeze, "what would you like to do, then?" She gestured at the surrounding area. "While I do think that St John's Wood is a nice place to live in, its High Street leaves a lot to desire for."

Helmina took a look at the growing grin on Heinrike's face before barely managing to resist the urge to palm her own face. "Please tell me you don't have anything planned that will end up getting someone accidentally killed," she groaned, ignoring the gelato that was slowly melting away in the wafer basket. "Yes, we all know that it was not your fault what happened the last time you went out – even you did not need to use your family name to avoid any trouble, but…"

* * *

><p><em>One month ago<em>

_The interior of the music bar looked as though a Rube Goldberg contraption had just gone off. Although reports of the incident would go on to be wildly exaggerated in the following weeks, what everyone could agree on was that it involved noodles, and that everything started when the woman behind the ticket counter by the bar entrance, in her excitement, loudly announced that the Sayn-Wittgenstein heiress had entered the premises._

_The Melbourne-based hard rock band from Australis had entered the place with five members. They would later leave without their Chinese-Australisian bassist. Coincidentally, the song they were playing when the climax of the heavily publicized Noodle Incident struck happened to be named "Death Twitch"._

* * *

><p>"But what? As you said, I didn't even need to use my family name to get out of trouble, because I didn't even do anything at all," Heinrike shrugged before eating a teaspoonful of vanilla gelato. "Besides, you have to admit that the way he squeaked out a 'DERP!' as his last word was hilarious," she added as an afterthought upon licking her lips clean.<p>

Both Helmina and Heidemarie shared a brief but unrestrained chuckle as they replayed the last few seconds of that moment. As much as they knew a death would always be seen as a tragedy, they could find nothing morbid about the way the poor bassist squeaked out his last word before flopping about like a fish out of water.

The trio sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the view from the outdoor portion of Café Rouge, before Heidemarie spoke up. "Well, Prinzessin," she started, referring to the blonde by her fittingly-appropriate nickname, "what do you propose we should do to alleviate your boredom?"

Helmina groaned mentally as she saw a smile grow on Heinrike's face. While not an outright grin, it was still reminiscent of the smile of a certain pink fictional cat.

"I'm so glad that you asked," Heinrike purred as she reached into the breast pocket of her jacket, pulling out what appeared to be three tickets. "Tonight, the three of us will be rocking the night away at The Borderline to some good old hard rock."

"The Borderline? Isn't that a nightclub somewhere around Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road?" A frown grew on Helmina's face as she reached out to take one of the tickets from the blonde's hand. "So, we'll be seeing Guns N' Roses this evening… Doesn't that band have a guitarist with a top hat who likes to play topless?"

"Sally 'Slash' Hudson? I remember seeing one of the band's live shows while I was on an exchange program in Liberion last year," Heinrike said as she sighed dreamily. "It was amazing, especially when Slash took her shirt off. I have never seen such a magnificent pair of…"

"We get the picture," Helmina muttered as she removed her hand from the blonde's mouth. "And I'm sure as hell that I don't want to know how you managed to sneak in to watch that gig when you were only turning twenty last year, but now, we do have a problem."

"Hmmm?"

"Rike, you are the Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein," Helmina firmly stated. "I don't think your parents would want you to attend such a rowdy concert because it stands against the values of royalty and refinement."

"That will not be a problem at all," Heinrike shrugged. "My parents are out of the country at the moment, and I'll simply let them know that I'll be spending the evening with my best friends in the world. Besides," she added, "who says that I'll be wearing this fine outfit at The Borderline, Mina?"

Helmina gulped. "Surely you would have something casual in your wardrobe…"

"Nein." A sly smirk was growing on the blonde's face. "What I'm wearing now is the most casual outfit that I have at the moment, and you know very well that EM is not casual enough for a rock show. Surely you would have the heart to help me solve this problem?"

It was at this point Helmina felt that she was in serious scheiße. From the way that Heinrike had said the last five words, from how she pouted and from how she punctuated those words, the blonde was obviously bringing out the big guns.

The raven-haired beauty sighed. It wasn't as though she needed to finish her Honors thesis – she had finished it at the start of the month, and with a few weeks to spare before it was due for submission, she could use the time to relax and indulge in a bit of shopping with people she cared about.

"Okay then," she said, "I'll help you look for a new set of clothes that'll allow you to fit in at The Borderline. I'll even attend the concert with you, if it's just to keep you out of trouble."

Heinrike ignored the way in which Helmina was blushing as she squealed in delight before getting up to hug her friend enthusiastically. The excitement of the moment gone, the blonde looked up at Heidemarie, shooting an inquiring look at the white-haired woman.

"I'm not adverse to such a night out," Heidemarie simply said. "If anything, seeing a band or two might prove inspirational. Schnaufer Toys is," she added, referring to her grandfather's toy company, "after all, looking to create a new line of figurines, and a range based on rock bands may inspire young children to explore their creative sides through music."

"Alright then!" Heinrike stood to leave before making for the exit, dragging a bewildered Heidemarie behind her. "What are we waiting for?"

Helmina sighed as she watched the two head off into the distance. The sigh turned into a groan as she spotted the bill for the lunch they just had.

"Oh, scheiße! Not again!"

* * *

><p>"Personally," Helmina started as the trio stood in front of a ZARA outlet along Oxford Street, "the first thing we need to get you is a pair of comfortable jeans, because people tend to get really energetic and work up a sweat at a hard rock concert."<p>

"Is that why we're standing in front of ZARA?"

"Goodness gracious, no!" Helmina managed to hold back her laughter at Heinrike's resulting pout. The blonde aristocrat had been accustomed to wearing high-end designer clothing ever since she understood the importance of fashion, and was already less than pleased to find herself outside the Hispanic fashion outlet, known for providing said designer clothing at relatively low prices.

"We'll be heading back there," the raven-haired woman continued as she pointed to her left, "back past those traffic lights to the John Lewis department store. Because the jeans over there are generally less expensive, you don't need to make a fuss if they get ruined."

"But…"

"No 'buts', Rike," Helmina shot back in a mock-scolding tone, "you said you wanted me to find you something casual to fit in with a crowd that your family would never approve of, and that's what I'm doing. Besides, since a month's worth of wages working at my father's restaurant is less than what you get every week as pocket money, where else do you think I go to do my clothes shopping?"

Heinrike sighed, knowing that Helmina had a point that she could not dispute without destroying their friendship. Turning her head, the blonde was surprised to see Heidemarie scribbling something in a tiny notepad.

"Just in case I feel like wearing something else apart from knee-length skirts," the white-haired woman simply stated as she noticed a pair of green eyes staring at her. "So," Heidemarie said as she turned her attention back to Helmina, "we can also get shirts at much cheaper prices at John Lewis?"

"That's right!"

"Shall we head off then?" With that, Heidemarie simply turned and walked in the direction of the department store.

"That's right," Heinrike chirped, a smile back on her face, "what are we waiting for, Mina?"

Helmina sighed yet again as she watched her two friends walk off. She couldn't help but notice that there was something slightly unsettling about Heinrike being cheerful again.

Helmina's suspicions were confirmed a few hours later when, upon paying for a new shirt for herself, she turned away from the counter only to find Heinrike and Heidemarie grinning at her as they each held several pieces of clothing in each of their hands.

"Oh, scheiße, not again."

* * *

><p>"I see you had a busy day, dear."<p>

"That's not even half of it, mom," Helmina said as she closed the door behind her, "I'm heading out again to the city with Prinzessin and Marie later this evening."

"That's nice," her mother called out from the kitchen. "I guess you will also be going out for dinner with them as well?"

"I might as well as do just that," Helmina said after giving the thought some consideration. "Are there any good restaurants near the Tottenham Court Road area?"

"Oh?"

"Prinzessin is dragging us to a live music club, The Borderline, to see a few hard rock bands, and the club is located in that area."

Silence rang briefly throughout the Embankment apartment as Helmina's mother started looking through a few of the drawers in the kitchen, only to be broken by a shout of triumph. "You could try Arbutus," she suggested as she stuck her head out of the kitchen to look at her daughter, "the food over there is good, and I remember you going crazy over the cold chocolate fondant that came with the salted caramel ice cream."

"That's not a bad suggestion at all," Helmina mused as the memory of tasting the fondant started to make her salivate. "Who knows? If I have the opportunity to eat it fresh out from the kitchen, I could figure out what makes it tick so that I can make it myself…"

"I'm sure you could get the recipe if you simply asked them for it politely," her mother sighed. "Speaking of eating out at a restaurant, you should probably let your father know that you won't be working tonight."

"I'll be sure to let him know I'll be working the lunch and dinner shifts over the weekend," Helmina's voice trailed through the hallway as she made her way to her room, "both Prinzessin and Marie cleaned me out earlier this afternoon, so I need to earn back some cash anyway…"

* * *

><p>It was 6:30 in the evening when Helmina got off the Bakerloo line at the Oxford Circus tube station, having taken it from Embankment. Pushing her way through the Friday evening crowd, she made her way to the surface, emerging at the corner of Oxford and Regent Streets, where she found Heinrike and Heidemarie waiting patiently for her. No words were exchanged as the three settled into a comfortable pace walking towards Tottenham Court Road, with the blonde being flanked by her companions.<p>

"It's a nice evening, isn't it?"

Helmina blinked. Talking about such a menial topic might have been slightly out of character for Heinrike, but the raven-haired woman was more surprised by the calm, almost melancholic manner in which the blonde simply made her statement. "Ja… It sure is."

"You couldn't have picked a better evening to invite us out," Heidemarie added as she turned her head away from the various shop windows to look at the aristocrat, with fondness growing in her eyes. "I really am looking forward to watching a few bands perform at a live club. It really is nice to try something different once in a while."

"Do you think so?"

Helmina could not help but notice that a blush was starting to grow on the blonde's face. She could vaguely recall overhearing some of her Fusoan acquaintances at her university discussing a cartoon about a closeted otaku, and had to fight off a blush of her own as she realized that a blushing Heinrike did resemble that fictional character.

"Oh, definitely, I mean, that's a 'yes'," Helmina squeaked out. "You definitely did choose the perfect evening for an outing in the city."

"I'm glad that you think so," Heinrike said, the relief present in her voice. "It's a nice change from what I usually do," she chuckled, "because I'm required to spend my Friday evenings talking with other people my age from the other Karlslander royal families just to look for a potential suitor."

"Now, I'm walking down Oxford Street with my two best friends on a Friday evening, dressed in my very own set of casual clothes," the blonde continued, ignoring the snort coming from a slightly disgruntled Helmina, "and it feels so… Liberating… No restraints… No need to worry about my peers not living up to the standards that my social class calls for. This is actually the first time where I feel that the people around me are on the same footing as myself, and I like it."

A warm smile made itself known on Helmina's face as she turned her head to look at Heinrike. Despite being the best of friends ever since their childhood days, something that could be traced back to the fateful day during primary school when they both stepped in on their own accord to chase a few bullies away from a then-sickly Heidemarie, she had always thought that the blonde always seemed a bit distant and condescending, which could be attributed to the aristocrat's upbringing.

At that very moment, however, with the sun setting in the background and Heinrike's admission of her feelings on the current situation, Helmina felt blessed that she was allowed to see a hidden but pleasant side of the blonde that had been kept under lock and key due to her social class.

The scent in the air chose to hit Helmina like a punching bag at the point. Turning her head and looking down at the pavement, the raven-haired woman's eyes widened as they took in the sight of a piece of dog turd lying on Heinrike's path. As if by instinct, her hand shot out to prevent the blonde from walking any further, brushing Heidemarie's own hand along the way.

"Ummm… What do you think the two of you are doing?"

Helmina blinked in surprise. Looking at where her hand had landed, her eyes bulged as she noticed her hand lightly cupping one of Heinrike's breasts, with Heidemarie doing the same to the other. A light squeeze upon reflex caused a blush to immediately form on Helmina's face as she realized that the blonde was not wearing a bra. Letting out a small squeak, she immediately removed her offending hand.

"It's not that I didn't enjoy that," Heinrike said as neutrally as she could, "but surely you could have done that in private if you had chosen to do so."

"I'm sorry, Rike," Helmina muttered, avoiding the use of the 'Prinzessin' nickname, "but you were about to step on a pile of scheiße." A sly grin started to grow on her face. "Besides, with the casual clothes, glasses, and the beret you are wearing, you look more like a student from Gallia than a member of a Karlslander royal family, so why don't you relax and not worry about your image getting ruined?"

"I guess you have a point, Mina," Heinrike smiled back.

"Shall we get going? If we don't make it to the restaurant by the appointed time, we may lose the reservation."

Heinrike sighed as she looked down at her chest. "As soon as Marie stops fondling me," she muttered while ignoring the drool on the corner of her friend's lips.

* * *

><p>The dining experience at Arbutus was a pleasant, if albeit slightly unmemorable one. The Gallian-inspired food was delicious, and was backed by an extensive wine list. While both Helmina and Heidemarie were tucking away into their salmon and cod respectively, Heinrike had decided to live out her rather Gallian disguise and ordered the bouillabaisse.<p>

"That was a good meal," the blonde declared upon draining her glass of Spätburgunder, the only thing she ordered that pointed out her Karlslander roots. "I can definitely see why the restaurant deserved its Michelin Star."

"And yet," Heidemarie mused as she lazily swirled her own glass of Sauvignon Blanc, "I still feel that there's something missing in this restaurant."

"I know what you mean. This is one of the cheapest Michelin Star restaurants I've eaten in, so I'd expect the service here to be a bit more energetic in their informality…" Heinrike sighed as she stared into her empty wine glass. "I heard that there's a Michelin Star restaurant, if you could call it that, on the other side of the world in Hong Kong, where most of the dishes cost no more than two Liberion dollars!"

"Really? What kind of cuisine?"

"Chinese street food," Heinrike said. "Soup noodles with meat balls and dumplings."

"Have you ever had anything like that before?"

The blonde sighed as she leaned back slightly on her chair. "I haven't had the opportunity to do so yet. I'm part of royalty, so I'm supposed to avoid being seen eating the food of the common people. Say, Marie," she started to ask, a contemplative look on her face, "could you imagine the three of us going on a trip to see if such cheap food is really worthy of a Michelin Star?"

"I'd like that," the white-haired woman said after some contemplation of her own, "and if she was not too busy analyzing the chocolate fondant, I am sure that Mina would agree to go on such a trip."

Heinrike chuckled as she watched her raven-haired friend, in a trance-like state, attempt to deconstruct the fondant, writing down various ingredients and possible baking techniques on a clean paper napkin as she swirled the icing-like cream around her mouth with her tongue. "I wouldn't be surprised if she were to make her way to the kitchen to make a demand for the recipe. Could you imagine her dry-humping the chef's leg for it?"

"No."

"Well," the blonde mused, "I suppose you are right. Out of the three of us, Mina is easily the most level-headed person."

"That's true," Heidemarie agreed, "but I think the reason why she would not go to such lengths to obtain the recipe is because of the way she blushed at you during that speech of yours while we were walking down Oxford Street."

"Oh."

The rest of Heinrike's response remained unsaid as she noticed Helmina finishing her glass of Grenache Viognier, an empty plate in front of her.

"That was a great meal," the raven-haired girl proclaimed with the sigh of a satisfied person, "now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to wash up."

"Take your time," Heinrike smiled as she watched her friend walk away. Turning back to Heidemarie, her voice dropped to that of a slightly loud whisper. "And what about you, Marie? You seemed rather reluctant to remove your hand from my chest on the way here."

Heidemarie could only blush in response. Noticing this, Heinrike nodded as though she finally understood something.

"I've got an idea. Why don't we have an impromptu sleepover at your place tonight after the gig at the club? Your parents are also out of town, and I'm pretty sure your kitchen has more than enough ingredients for Mina to replicate the fondant."

"Why?" There was no disguising the surprise in the white-haired girl's tone.

Heinrike took a quick look at her surroundings. Satisfied that nobody was watching, she leaned over to place a chaste kiss on Heidemarie's lips.

"I've had my fair share of boyfriends while looking for a potential suitor," the blonde explained as she pulled away, "and even though they did their best to treat me like the Prinzessin that I am, they never made me feel the same way that I feel whenever I'm with both you and Mina."

The shy smile she got from her friend was worth risking causing a scandal, and a quiet "thank you" to the powers that be for the rather dim interior of Arbutus was muttered.

"HEY! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED IN THE KITCHEN!"

* * *

><p>Alcohol flowed, and fun was had by all at The Borderline. Heinrike was grateful for the fact that Helmina had insisted on buying clothes that didn't come from a high-end fashion label, given that she was currently working up a sweat headbanging and swaying to the fast-paced energetic rock music.<p>

Things nearly went awry when The Scarlets, another punk rock band from Melbourne, Australis, was warming up the stage for the headlining Guns N' Roses. Heinrike could only put on a cute pout on her face upon finding out that the bassist was also the lead singer's boyfriend, but had to be physically restrained by both Heidemarie and Helmina as she attempted to ravish the drummer after a particularly rousing rendition of "Dirty Rock Baby".

"What? Rock and roll has taken over me," the blonde would only say during the intermission as the headlining band started to set up their amplifiers, "and I won't have it any other way." Heidemarie was the only person who noticed the briefest flash of uncertainty in her voice, but chose not to mention anything as she walked off to discuss the effects of the room's acoustics with the sound technicians.

"Oh, Rike…" Helmina sighed as she handed her blonde friend another bottle of beer. "How many beers have you already had, in addition to the wine back at the Arbutus?"

"I think this is my third one," Heinrike said, eagerly accepting the Beck's. "Ah," she moaned with satisfaction upon taking a swig of the amber fluid, "that's good."

Letting out another sigh, Helmina sat down next to her friend. "You really are taking to the beer like a fish takes to water."

"I guess even a Prinzessin like myself can give the men here a run for their money… Do you think that I could save on money if I were to brew my own beer?"

"It depends on the quantity," Helmina mused as she took a sip of her own Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. "It's not like I approve of that, but if you do brew your own beer, please don't end up like Erica Hartman."

"What happened?"

"She tried to brew what is theoretically the most flavorsome beer ever, but something went wrong with the process, resulting in the machinery she used exploding."

The shock was apparent on Heinrike's face. "Did she…"

"Nope." Helmina took another swig from her bottle. "She managed to escape from the explosion unharmed, but was coated in the beer, which managed to seep into her skin and transformed her into Sheila-Woman."

"Mein Gott!" The shock on the blonde's face had been replaced by an incredulous look that was on the verge of laughter. "Sheila-Woman, the self-proclaimed super heroine who runs around without pants and underwear, and doesn't work on Sundays and her days off?"

"That's the one and the same."

"Wow… How did she come up with that name? I'm not familiar with the word 'sheila' in the Britannian language."

"Well," Helmina frowned as she tried to recall a memory, "from what I've heard, shortly after the accident, she had a dream in which she was visited by a superhero from Australis, someone known as Bloke-Man. 'Sheila' is probably a slang word for 'woman' down there."

The two shared a chuckle and clinked their beer bottles as Heidemarie walked back towards their direction, an empty beer bottle in hand.

"They've just finished setting up the stage," the white-haired woman said. "Sally, Jessie, Michelle and Stephanie are all on the stage, and Alexis Rose looks like she's about to join them."

"Who?" Helmina looked confused upon hearing the first four names.

"Lead guitarist Sally Hudson, AKA Slash," Heinrike recited, "rhythm guitarist Jessica Isbell, AKA Izzy Stradlin, bassist Michelle 'Duffy' McKagan, and drummer Stephanie Adler."

"'Izzy Stradlin'? I can see the pun behind that," Helmina snorted. "Shall we?"

* * *

><p>The forty-minute set was intense, considering that the band had only released their debut album, "Appetite For Destruction", a few months ago. Completely blues-driven, the songs never failed to satisfy everyone in attendance, regardless of whether they were energetic punk-based songs or touching ballads.<p>

The trio was caught up in the energy that the band was pouring out, jumping about when appropriate, and swaying along to the moving ballad "Sweet Child O' Mine". As such, they felt disappointed as soon as the main set list was finished, only to cheer the band on when Alexis Rose led her band mates back onto the stage for an encore, launching into a rousing rendition of "Nightrain".

… **On the nightrain**

**Float me home!**

**Ooh! I'm on the nightrain!**

**Ridin' the nightrain**

**Never to return!**

"Hey, Rike," Helmina shouted over the wailing sound of the ending guitar solo, "now I know why you love this band so much!"

"What!"

"You're right, the lead guitarist does have a pair of great tits!"

**Loaded like a freight train**

**Flyin' like an aeroplane**

**Feelin' like a space brain**

**One more time toniiiiiiight!**

With that, the song came to a rousing end. Waiting for the cheers to die down, Alexis Rose brought the mike to her mouth, a grin already growing on her face.

"Well, well, well, I see that some of you were really enjoying the view up here. I've only got one thing to say about that – Anything Goes!"

**I been thinkin' 'bout**

**Thinkin' 'bout sex**

**Always hungry for somethin'**

**That I haven't had yet**

**Well, maybe baby you got somethin' to lose**

**Well, I got somethin' I got somethin' for you**

**My way – your way**

**Anything goes tonight…**

Heinrike groaned.

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><p>"Hi mom," Helmina spoke into her phone, "ja, the gig was great, and I'm now at Marie's place… Yes, mom, I know… Okay, thank you once again for letting me stay over at her place on such short notice… I'll see you at home in the afternoon. Good night."<p>

Putting the phone away, the raven-haired woman turned to look into the living room of the Schnaufer household. She chuckled as she saw Heinrike, sans her glasses and beret, sprawled out on the couch.

"I'll look after her, Mina."

Helmina smiled as she turned her head, acknowledging Heidemarie's presence. "I'll go get changed, then. It's a pity that your kitchen doesn't have any chocolate left."

"I know," Heidemarie simply said. "I'm pretty sure that you could replicate that fondant if you wanted to. Even so, it is starting to get late."

"That's true, I suppose… Well, I'll be back out in a few minutes. Once again, thanks for inviting me to stay over, Marie…"

The white-haired woman smiled back as she watched Helmina walk to the bathroom before she herself made her way to the couch.

"Are you alright, Prinzessin?"

Heinrike opened an eye, drinking in the sight of a white-haired goddess standing over her with concern on her face.

"Never better, mein Marie." With that, the aristocrat pulled Heidemarie towards her, their lips connecting before parting slightly to allow their tongues to wrestle each other. Minutes passed before the two pulled away from each other, panting as they struggled to catch their breaths.

"What about Mina?" There was a tinge of concern in Heidemarie's voice. "You already admitted to me back at Arbutus that you love her as well…"

"I…" Heinrike never got to finish her sentence as she felt a pair of arms pulling off her shirt from behind. As she turned her head in surprise, her lips were captured by Helmina's.

"Worry about that later," Helmina muttered as she pulled away, feeling pleased at the visible evidence of the blonde's arousal. "Right now, we are going to create the best time we'll remember, and the love we are going to share is lovin' that'll last forever," she promised before pouncing on Heidemarie.

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><p><strong>AN:  
>About damn time that I got this up! This was actually my SECOND REWRITE for this particular request. To the person who requested this, bravo, you might just have broken my fanfic-writing spirit.<strong>

**(EDIT: To answer some of J Moon's points in his review for this chapter, I will clarify that the Neuroi are 100% absent in this AU.)**

**(EDIT 2 on 18/08/11: Uber-tastic came up with the name "HuaXia" for China, and I chose to name Hong Kong as "Canton". In the lights of China being named, well, China, in the Strike Witches universe, I have made the appropriate changes.)**

**As for why I took so long to put this up, I'll admit that I've got problems trying to come up with things that women in their early 20s would do on a night out in London, given that I'm not a socially active person and would not know what girls my age do at night in any western city, and that it's been nearly 10 years since I moved away from London. Part of why I took so long to write the story was so that I could actually "do the research" on London for the various locations I wanted to use.**

**I've also been caught up supporting a band that a couple of my friends are a part of - this in turned inspired the idea to have Prinzessin drag the other two to a live music club to watch a couple of rock bands rock out, an idea that's fuelled by me realising that I'm a male version of Helmina Lent. As such, to the person who requested this chapter, I apologise for not fulfilling the second prompt that you specified.**

**On that note, if you are into Load/Reload-era Metallica and Guns N' Roses, visit www [dot] recklessrock [dot] com. And no, I'm not a member of Reckless. I did become friends with them when I auditioned to play bass for them more than a year ago, and I'm now somewhat like an unofficial roadie/groupie/cameraman for the band.**

**As for the distaff counterparts of Guns N' Roses, in this AU, they've only just released their first album, "Appetite For Destruction". In regards to their clothing, their wardrobe is based on their 1988 performance at the Ritz.**

**Do yourself a favour, and look up "Blokeman" on Youtube.**

**Here's a bit of trivia - I used to live in St John's Wood, the suburb mentioned at the start of the chapter. I actually had to look up Google Maps to remember the name of Cafe Rouge.**

**What about my self-insert? Here's a little omake.**

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><p><strong>Omake:<strong>

The four people from Australis stood in silence as they mourned for their fallen comrade. Zach had always been there in their time of need, supporting the band tirelessly throughout their formative days, and had volunteered to play the bass when no-one else was willing to propel the hard rock scene in Australis to a new era.

The lead singer was about to walk out of the building, ready to make a call to Zach's family when she heard her name.

"El," Lex, the rhythm guitarist called out, "you might want to take a look at this!"

The band huddled around the dead body, staring at the base of the neck in silence for all of thirty seconds.

"ZACK-02, MANUFACTURED UNDER LICENCE BY THE GREAT PARU-SAMA," the rhythm guitarist read out. "What the fuck does that mean?"

Many universes and realities away, a bespectacled Japanese girl sneezed before proceeding to sketch a raunchy scene featuring her thirty classmates having their way with their teacher.

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><p><strong><span>Yeah. Now, if you don't mind, I need to go to sleep now.<span>**


End file.
